Jerusalem to Be Attacked

12 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:

The Lord who ^(A)stretches out the heavens, ^(B)lays the foundation of the earth, and ^(C)forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: ² “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a ^(D)cup ^[a]that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against ^(E)Judah. ³ It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy ^(F)stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will ^(G)injure themselves severely. And all the ^(H)nations of the earth will be gathered against it. ⁴ On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will ^[b]watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵ Then the ^[c]clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a ^[d]strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the ^[e]clans of Judah like a ^(I)firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while ^[f]the ^(J)inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. ⁷ The Lord also will ^(K)save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of ^(L)David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will ^(M)protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who ^[g](N)is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like ^(O)God, like the ^(P)angel of the Lord before them. ⁹ And on that day I will ^(Q)seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And I will ^(R)pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^[h]the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they ^(S)pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one ^(T)mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Enemies

14 Behold, a ^(A)day is coming for the Lord when ^(B)the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. ² For I will ^(C)gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the ^(D)houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go forth and ^(E)fight against those nations, as ^[a]when He fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day His feet will ^(F)stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be ^(G)split ^[b]in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. ⁵ And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the ^(H)earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. ^(I)Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with ^[c]Him!

⁶ On that day there will be ^(J)no light; the ^[d]luminaries will die out. ⁷ For it will be ^(K)a unique day which is ^(L)known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the ^(M)time of evening there will be light.

⁸ And on that day ^(N)living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

⁹ And the Lord will be ^(O)King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only ^(P)one, and His name the only one.

¹⁰ All the land will change into a plain from ^(Q)Geba to ^(R)Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but ^[e]Jerusalem will ^(S)rise and ^(T)remain on its site from ^(U)Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the ^(V)Corner Gate, and from the ^(W)Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. ¹¹ People will live in it, and there will ^(X)no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will ^(Y)live in security.

¹⁴ This ^(A)gospel of the kingdom ^(B)shall be preached in the whole ^[a](C)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(D)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(E)the holy place—^[b](F)let the ^[c]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [d]Whoever is on ^(G)the ^[e]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[f]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(H)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[g]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(I)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[h]life would have been saved; but for ^(J)the sake of the ^[i]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (K)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[j]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(L)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[k](M)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(N)the ^[l]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (O)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(P)coming of the ^(Q)Son of Man ^[m]be. ^28 (R)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[n]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(S)tribulation of those days ^(T)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(U)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(V)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(W)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(X)He will send forth His angels with ^(Y)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^[o](Z)elect from ^(AA)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.